Match Report vs Whitchurch
Heath 20 July 2016 @ Wenvoe (Skipper Kim, report Tim)
So, my first match report for the Cazh and I was determined
to do a proper job, get to the ground early, check out the
wicket, maybe even take a selfie whilst assessing the size
of any cracks in the wicket with my car keys; and, as luck
would have it, now that the teachers are on holiday the traffic
on my journey from the Forest of Dean was lighter than normal,
allowing me to arrive at Wenvoe with ample time to spare.
However, with the gates locked and Shakey nowhere to be seen
I resorted to marking time sitting in my car, if only to ensure
I wasn’t accosted for a second time by the elderly Whitchurch
supporting loon who had already regaled me with an incomprehensible
story about Don Bradman seconds after I rocked up.
Order was however restored with the arrival of Shakey at
around 5.45 and access gained to the ground, but with time
marching on any lingering opportunity for pre-match research
was eschewed in favour of some (much needed in my case) catching
practice. I was, after all, here to play and not just write
a match report (!).
Whitchurch having won the toss (I think – note to self,
pay more attention) elected to bat. Dan opened from the pavilion
end with a maiden and Shakey started in a similarly miserly
fashion from the other end – almost taking a wicket
with his fourth ball, a low drive that Rumman did well to
get his finger tips to, and his fifth, a sharp stumping from
Will that certainly had an air of the benefit of the doubt
about it, before inducing another wild swish with his sixth
that this time there was no doubt about – Will deftly
whipping off the bails with the batsman well out of his ground,
a feat that was to be repeated in Shakey’s second over.
Whitchurch 1 – 1 after 2 overs.
With two batsmen already back in the pavilion relatively
early in the game Whitchurch were looking to rebuild and whilst
Dan and Shakey managed to keep the brakes firmly on the scoring,
conceding just 21 off their combined 8 overs, they weren’t
able to add to the wickets tally.
The first bowling changes saw Pete O take over at the pavilion
end and James replace Shakey, with the now set batsmen clearly
looking to up the pace a little. The Cazh were looking for
inspiration, and it came in rather comical fashion. A fullish
ball from Pete was played out towards wide-ish long on, with
Dan setting off in pursuit round from long on. The batsman
at the striking end, embarking on a run, slipped and fell
on his backside. The non-striker, realising the run was no
longer on, turned and began sauntering back, failing to realise
the potential power and accuracy of Dan’s arm, and a
direct hit saw him on his way - 11 overs gone, and Whitchurch
were 44 – 3, and a wicket apiece for Pete and James
(his first for the Cazh) in the next two overs saw them 5
down with only 51 on the board, and two new batsmen at the
crease. Unfortunately that was about as good as it was to
get for the Cazh as these two set about putting together a
meaningful total, with the final 7 overs yielding 89 runs.
Whitchurch 140 – 5 from their 20 overs. Meaningful,
but gettable.
The gap between innings brought news from the English Football
Association that they had decided to no longer compete in
future World Cups and European Championships (the only logical
explanation for employing Big Sam as manager of their national
team), and in the meantime the Cazh set about their reply.
Openers Tesh and Rumman started solidly, navigating the first
couple of overs without looking in any real danger. Rumman
then decided to open his shoulders and having cracked a couple
of 4s and a 2, was caught at mid wicket, bringing Will to
the crease. Tesh was next to go, in the sixth over, bowled
by one that (from where I was sitting at least) looked to
have kept low. At this point the game was in the balance and
for the Cazh to triumph they were going to need a decent partnership.
Will and Kim established themselves quickly, trading singles
with regularity whilst dispatching the bad balls to the boundary,
and when Kim was eventually out, bowled for 36 (3x4, 1x6)
to the last ball of the 17th over, the score had moved on
to 119 – a partnership of 86 in 12 overs, leaving 22
required from the final 3 – tight, but with Will still
at the crease and wickets in hand, the Casuals had cause for
cautious optimism.
Any lingering doubts there may have been were however all
but extinguished by the end of the wide-laden 18th, which
yielded 16 runs, and finally snuffed out at the beginning
of the 19th when Will struck a four to square leg to bring
up his 50 (a feat almost missed by the scorer – sorry
Will) and level the scores. Attempting the same shot to the
next ball however proved to be Will’s downfall as he
managed a top edge back to the bowler (4x4, 1x6), bringing
Richie to the crease to watch the 27th wide of the innings
dribble past – a rather anticlimactic end to what had
been a well paced and, in the end, relatively comfortable
run chase.
Casuals 141 – 4 off 18 and a bit overs (certainly 2
legitimate deliveries, could have been 3).
Stats
Dan 4 – 1 – 10 – 0
Shakey 4 – 0 – 11 – 2
Pete 4 – 0 – 27 – 1
James 4 – 0 – 41 – 1
Kim 2 – 0 – 23 – 0
Richie 2 – 0 – 25 – 0
Tesh 8
Rumman 11
Will 50
Kim 36
SteveO 2*
Richie 0*
DNB – Pete, Tim, Dan, Shakey and James
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